SED2601/101/0/2024

Tutorial Letter 101/0/2024

Sociology of Education
SED2601

Year module

Department of Educational Foundations

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please register on myUnisa, activate your myLife e-mail account and
make sure that you have regular access to the myUnisa module
website, SED2601-24-Y, as well as your group website.

Note: Since this is a fully online module, it is only available on myUnisa.

BARCODE
 CONTENTS

Page

1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 Getting started ............................................................................................................................ 5
2 MODULE OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................. 5
2.1 Purpose of SED2601 .................................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Outcomes ..................................................................................................................................... 6
3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION ........................................................................................... 7
4 LECTURER AND CONTACT DETAILS ....................................................................................... 7
4.1 Lecturer ....................................................................................................................................... 7
4.2 Department .................................................................................................................................. 7
4.3 University .................................................................................................................................... 7
5 RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................... 8
5.1 Prescribed book ............................................................................................................................ 8
5.2 Recommended book(s) ................................................................................................................. 8
5.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves) ................................................................................................ 8
6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES .............................................................................................. 10
6.1 First-Year Experience Programme .............................................................................................. 11
7. STUDY PLAN ............................................................................................................................. 11
8 HOW TO STUDY ONLINE .......................................................................................................... 12
8.1 What does it mean to study fully online? ..................................................................................... 12
9. ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................................... 12
9.1 Assessment criteria ..................................................................................................................... 12
9.2 Assessment plan ......................................................................................................................... 13
9.3 Assessment due dates ................................................................................................................ 13
9.4 Submission of assessments ........................................................................................................ 13
9.4.1 Types of assignments and descriptions....................................................................................... 15
9.5 The assessments ........................................................................................................................ 16
9.6 Other assessment methods ........................................................................................................ 16
9.7 The examination ......................................................................................................................... 16
9.7.1 Invigilation/proctoring .................................................................................................................. 17
10. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY......................................................................................................... 18
10.1 Plagiarism ................................................................................................................................... 18

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10.2 Cheating ..................................................................................................................................... 18

11. AN INVITATION TO STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES ................................................. 18
12. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS......................................................................................... 18
13. SOURCES CONSULTED ........................................................................................................... 19
14. IN CLOSING ............................................................................................................................... 19
GLOSSARY OF TERMS ........................................................................................................................ 19

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1 INTRODUCTION
Dear student

Unisa is a comprehensive open distance e-learning (CODeL) higher education institution.

The comprehensiveness of our curricula encapsulates a range of offerings – from strictly
vocational to strictly academic certificates, diplomas and degrees. Unisa's “openness” and its
distance e-learning character result in many students registering at Unisa who may not have
had an opportunity to enrol in higher education. Our CODeL character implies that our
programmes are carefully planned and structured to ensure success for students, ranging
from the underprepared (but with potential) to the sufficiently prepared.

Teaching and learning in a CODeL context involve multiple modes of delivery, ranging from
blended to fully online learning. As a default position, all postgraduate programmes are
offered fully online with no printed study materials, while undergraduate programmes are
offered in a blended mode of delivery, where printed study materials are augmented with
online teaching and learning via the learner management system – myUnisa. In some
instances, undergraduate programmes are also offered fully online.

Furthermore, our programmes are aligned with the vision, mission and values of the
university. Unisa's commitment to serve humanity and shape futures, combined with a clear
appreciation for our location on the African continent, means our graduates have distinctive
qualities which include:

• being independent, resilient, responsible and caring citizens who are able to fulfil and
serve in multiple roles in their immediate and future local, national and global
communities

• having a critical understanding of their location on the African continent with its
histories, challenges and potential in relation to globally diverse contexts

• the ability to critically analyse and evaluate the credibility and usefulness of
information and data from multiple sources, in a globalised world, with its ever-
increasing information and data flows and competing worldviews

• knowing how to apply their discipline-specific knowledges competently, ethically and

creatively, to solve real-life problems

• an awareness of their own learning and developmental needs and future potential.

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SED2601 is a fully online module, and for that reason this tutorial letter is available online.
Whether a module is offered either as blended (meaning we use a combination of print and
online materials to engage with you) or online (all information is available via the internet), we
use myUnisa as our virtual campus. This online system is used to administer, document and
deliver educational material to you, and support our engagement with you. Keep an eye out
for information from your lecturer and from other Unisa platforms, on how to access the
virtual myUnisa module site. Information on the tools available to engage with your lecturer
and fellow students, to support your learning, will also be communicated via various
platforms.

We encourage you to log into the module site on myUnisa regularly (i.e., at least twice a week).
Since this is a fully online module, you will need to use myUnisa to study and complete the
learning activities. Visit the website for SED2601-24-Y on myUnisa frequently.

We wish you every success with your studies!

1.1 Getting started

Due to the nature of this module, you can read about the module and find your study material
online. Go to the website at https://my.unisa.ac.za and log in, using your student number and
password. You will see the SED2601-24-Y module site in the row of modules displayed in the
orange blocks at the top of the webpage. Select the More tab if you cannot find the module you
require in the blocks displayed, then click on the module you want to open.

2 MODULE OVERVIEW
2.1 Purpose of SED2601

The purpose of this module is to provide you with an understanding of schooling as an evolving
social construct aimed at maximising opportunities for teaching and learning, by means of social
interaction. As a framework for analysing change in the South African education system, the
manner in which social institutions and individual experiences affect educational outcomes, is
addressed in this module.

The following themes are discussed in the wrap-around guide, which is linked to the prescribed
textbook:

o The three major theories of the sociology of education

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o The role of schools in relation to sociology of education theories

o The ecology of the school

o Citizenship education

o Diversity and culture

2.2 Outcomes

Students who have completed this module successfully at the end of the year, should have
achieved the following outcomes:

Learning outcome 1

The qualifying student should be able to demonstrate a sound, acquired knowledge base of
the key theories and perspectives which are grounded in the Sociology of Education, by
addressing social factors influencing the South African schooling system.

Learning outcome 2

The qualifying student should be able to assess the role of social institutions, such as the
family and the school, as micro- and meso-concentric social construct systems of education,
and to address macro-societal inequalities in these areas of analysis.

Learning outcome 3

The qualifying student should be able to identify and implement a variety of social roles, such
asdemocratic citizenship, to make a positive, solutions-based contribution on a local, national,
and global platform.

Learning outcome 4

The qualifying student should be able to understand key ideas and debates on a societal
level, and to develop strategies aimed at the transformation of educational institutions and
practices.

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3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION
Unisa has implemented a transformation charter, in terms of which the university places
curriculum transformation high on the teaching and learning agenda. Curriculum
transformation includes student-centred scholarship, the pedagogical renewal of teaching and
assessment practices, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and the infusion of African
epistemologies and philosophies. All of these will be phased in at both the programme and the
module levels, and as a result you will notice a marked change in the teaching and learning
strategy implemented by Unisa, and in the way in which the content is conceptualised in your
modules. We encourage you to embrace these changes during your studies at Unisa in a
responsive way, within the framework of transformation.

4 LECTURER AND CONTACT DETAILS

4.1 Lecturer
Primary Lecturer: Mr TV Letsoalo
Telephone number: 012 429 2162
E-mail: letsotv@unisa.ac.za

4.2 Department

You can contact the Department of Educational Foundations as follows:

Contact person: Mrs D Tjikana

Telephone number: 012 429 6009
(Secretary)E-mail: ndaladn1@unisa.ac.za

4.3 University
Remember to have your student number at hand whenever you contact the university. When
writing to, or e-mailing a lecturer, please include your student number and the module code, to
enable him/her to help you more effectively.

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5 RESOURCES

5.1 Prescribed book

The only prescribed textbook for this module is the following:

Du Plessis, S., Gasa, V., Maharajh, L., Mathebula, T., Siyakwazi, P., & Vilakazi,
S. 2018. Sociology of Education. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.

It is essential that you purchase your own copy as soon as possible, as you will be
required to make an intensive study of the contents.

5.2 Recommended book(s)

There are no recommended books for this module, only sections of chapters that can be
accessed free of charge on the e-reserves portal (see below).

5.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)

The following is a list of recommended e-reserve journal articles/chapter excerpts for

SED2601 that are available free of charge from the library and on myUnisa:

Bronfenbrenner, 2005 Ecological models of International Encyclopaedia of Education 3(2). 37–43.

U human development Oxford: Elsevier. Reprinted in Readings on the
development of children, edited by M Gauvain. New
York: Freeman.

Woods, P 2012 Interactionism and the Sociology and the School: An Interactionist 1–17
school Viewpoint

Feinberg, W 2009 Marxist Theory and Schools and Society 41–56

education

Giddens, A 2013 Race, ethnicity and Sociology ...

migration

Giddens, A 2013 Stratification and class Sociology ...

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Ballantine, JH 2017 What is Sociology of Schools and Society: A Sociological Approach to 1–34
Education? Theoretical Education
perspectives

Giddens, A 2009 What is Sociology? Sociology 2–26

These articles/chapter extracts can also be downloaded from the library catalogue. More
information is available at: http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request/request

5.4 Library services and resources

The Unisa Library offers a range of information services and resources. The library has created
numerous library guides, available at http://libguides.unisa.ac.za

Recommended guides

• For brief information on the library, go to https://www.unisa.ac.za/library/libatglance

• For more detailed library-related information, go to
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library
• For frequently asked questions, go to
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Frequently-Asked-Questions
• For research support and services (e.g., the personal librarian service and the
information search librarian's literature search request (on your research topic) service),
go to http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Research-
support
• For library training for undergraduate students, go to
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Training
• For lending services, go to
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Lending-services
• For services for postgraduate students, go to
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Services-for-Postgraduates
• For support and services for students with disabilities, go to
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Services-for-students-with-
special-needs
• For library technology support, go to https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/techsupport
• To find and use library resources and tools, go to
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/Research_skills

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• For an A–Z list of library databases, go to https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/az.php

Important contact information

• Technical problems encountered in accessing library online services:
Lib-help@unisa.ac.za
• General library-related queries: Library-enquiries@unisa.ac.za
• Queries related to library fines and payments: Library-fines@unisa.ac.za
• Interlibrary loan service for postgraduate students: libr-ill@unisa.ac.za
• Literature search service: Lib-search@unisa.ac.za
• Social media channels: Facebook: UnisaLibrary and Twitter: @UnisaLibrary

6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

The Study @ Unisa brochure is available on myUnisa: www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies

This brochure contains important information and guidelines for successful studies through
Unisa.

For assistance with the myModules system, use the following contact details:

• Toll-free landline: 0800 00 1870 (select option 07 for myModules)

• E-mail: mymodules22@unisa.ac.za or myUnisaHelp@unisa.ac.za

You can access and watch short videos on topics such as how to view your calendar, access
module content, view announcements for modules, submit assessments and participate in
forum activities, via the following link: https://dtls-qa.unisa.ac.za/course/view.php?id=32130

Registered Unisa students receive a free myLife e-mail account. Important information,
notices and updates are sent exclusively to this account. Please note: it can take up to 24
hours for your account to be activated after you have claimed it. Please do so immediately
after registering at Unisa, by following this link: myLifeHelp@unisa.ac.za

Your myLife account is the only e-mail account recognised by Unisa for official
correspondence with the university and will remain the official primary e-mail address on
record at Unisa. You remain responsible for managing this e-mail account.

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6.1 First-Year Experience Programme

Many students find the transition from school to tertiary education stressful. This is also true in
the case of students enrolling at Unisa for the first time. Unisa is a dedicated ODeL entity, and it
is very different from face-to-face/contact institutions. As a mega university, all our programmes
are offered through either blended or fully online learning. For this reason, we thought it
necessary to offer first-time students additional/extended support to help them seamlessly
navigate the Unisa teaching and learning journey with little difficulty and few barriers. We
therefore offer a specialised student support programme to students enrolling at Unisa for the
first time – this is Unisa’s First-Year Experience (FYE) Programme, designed to provide prompt
and helpful information about the services the institution offers, and how to access information.
The following FYE services are currently offered:

FYE website Email support

www.unisa.ac.za/FYE fye@unisa.ac.za

FYE1500
Post
myUnisa; study
Registration
Referrals to skills; academic &
orientation digital literacies;
other support
services (i.e. etc.
counselling;
reading & writing
workshops)

To ensure that you do not miss out on important academic and support communication
from the Student Retention Unit (SRU), please check your myLife inbox regularly.

7. STUDY PLAN

It is important to start working on your assessments as soon as your registration is finalised, and
to adhere to assessment due dates.

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8 HOW TO STUDY ONLINE

8.1 What does it mean to study fully online?

Studying a fully online module may differ completely from studying some of your other
modules at Unisa:

• All your study material and learning activities are delivered fully online on
myUnisa.
• All communication between you and the university happens online. Your lecturers
will communicate to you via e-mail and SMS, as well as by using the Announcements,
Discussion Forums and Questions and Answers tools. You can also use all of these
channels to ask questions and contact your lecturer.

9. ASSESSMENT

9.1 Assessment criteria

What does the “open” part of ODeL refer to, and how does it affect Unisa students?

Unisa is bound by national legislation to only allow students who have a national senior
certificate (Matric) to register with the university. “Openness” does not mean that everyone can
study at Unisa: it means that the offered qualifications are open to the future for students who
qualify and complete their qualifications successfully. Lecturers strive to teach effectively
through well-designed learning material and the appropriate use of technologies. Unisa also
strives to provide student support to take the “distance” out of open distance education and
learning. We take the needs of our students, and the feedback received, seriously, to help
improve our qualifications and the overall learning experience.

As an ODeL institution, our undergraduate BEd programme is presented in line with ODeL
principles and assessment methods. The impact of ODeL on Unisa students is major. Unisa
gives opportunities to those students who really want to study further, even if some require
more support than others. This is all part of the “openness”. Addressing all students’ needs
and aspirations is a welcome challenge to Unisa’s academics, administrative and support staff.
Unisa really strives to let the “openness” in ODeL create space and opportunities for students
to realise their dreams.

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9.2 Assessment plan

• To complete this module, you are required to submit three (3) assessments.
• All information about when and where to submit your assessments will be made
available via the myModules site for your module.
• The due dates of assessments, as well as the actual assessments, are available on
the myModules site for this module.
• To gain admission to the examination, you need to submit all three (3)
assignments.
• For admission to the examination, you need a year mark average of 40% for your
assignments.
• The assignments’ weighting for the module is 20%.
• You will receive examination information via the myModules sites. Keep an eye out
for announcements on how the examinations for the modules for which you are
registered, will be conducted.
• The examination will count 80% towards your final module mark.

9.3 Assessment due dates

• No assignment due dates are included in this tutorial letter.

• The assignment due dates will be made available to you on the myUnisa landing
page for this module, hopefully upon registration.

• Please start working on your assessments as soon as you have registered for the
module.

• Log on to the myUnisa site for this module, for more information on the due dates
for the submission of the different assessments.

9.4 Submission of assessments

• Unisa, as a CODeL entity, is moving towards becoming an online institution,

therefore all your study material, assessments and engagements with your lecturer
and fellow students will take place online, with myUnisa serving as our virtual
campus.

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 • The myUnisa virtual campus offers you access to the myModules site, where
learning material is available online and where assessments should be completed.
This online system is used to administer, document, and deliver educational
material to you, and to support engagement between you and the academics.

• The myUnisa platform can be accessed via https://my.unisa.ac.za. Click on the

myModules 2024 button to access the online sites for the modules for which you are
registered.

• The university undertakes to communicate as clearly and as frequently as

necessary, to ensure that you derive the greatest benefit from using the myModules
learning management system. Please access the announcements on your
myModules site regularly, as this is where your lecturer will post important
information.

• When you access your myModules site for the module(s) for which you are
registered, you will see a welcome message posted by your lecturer. Below that,
you will see the assessment shells for the assessments you need to complete.
Some assessments may be multiple choice, others tests, written assessments,
forum discussions, and so on. All assessments must be completed on the
assessment shells available on the respective module platforms.

• To complete quiz assessments, please log on to the module site and complete them
there. Click on the relevant assessment shell (Assessment 1). There will be a date
on which the assessment will open. When the assessment is open, access the quiz
online and complete it within the time available. Quiz assessment questions are not
included in this tutorial letter (Tutorial Letter 101) and are only available online. You
must therefore access and complete the quiz online, where it was created.

• It is not advisable to use a cell phone to complete the quiz – rather use a desktop
computer, tablet or laptop when doing so. Students who use a cell phone find it
difficult to navigate the Online Assessment tool on the small screen, and often
struggle to navigate between questions and successfully complete the quizzes. In
addition, cell phones are more vulnerable to dropped internet connections than
other devices. If at all possible, please do not use a cell phone for this
assessment type.

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• For written assessments, please note the due date by which each assessment must
be submitted. Ensure that you follow the guidelines given by your lecturer, to
complete the assessments. Click on the submission button on the relevant
assessment shell on myModules. You will then be able to upload your written
assessment on the myModules site of the module(s) for which you are registered.
Before finalising the upload, double check that you have selected the correct file for
uploading. Remember: no marks can be awarded for incorrectly submitted
assessments.

9.4.1 Types of assignments and descriptions

All assignments are defined as either optional, mandatory, compulsory or elective.

• Elective assignments
- If not submitted, the student receives no mark for this item.
- The best of the required submissions will count.
• Mandatory assignments
- If not submitted, the student receives no mark for this item.
• Compulsory assignments
- If not submitted, the result on the student’s academic record will be: absent.
• Optional assignments – these may benefit your learning.

I. Elective assignments
a. The student is given a choice of which assignments within an identified group to
submit. Only the best result(s), the number of which is specified in advance, will
contribute towards the year mark.
b. These assignments must be grouped into an elective group.
c. For the student to select which assignment to submit, the elective assignments must
be grouped together. Relevant information must be provided, such as how many of
the assignments must be submitted, and how many of the assignment marks should
be combined into the year mark.
d. The selection criteria define how marks received for assignments in an elective group
are to be combined into the year mark. Three different criteria may be used for
calculating the year mark:
• The best mark should be used, or

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 • If the student submits fewer than the required number of assignments per
group, or no assignment in a group, a mark of 0% will be used.
• 0% is awarded to all non-submitted or unmarked assessments. A best mark is
then calculated from all items.

II. Mandatory assignments

a. These contribute to the year mark.
b. If a student fails to submit a mandatory assignment, no mark is awarded and the year
mark is calculated accordingly. The student will therefore forfeit the marks attached to
this assignment, when the final mark for the module is calculated.

III. Compulsory assessments

a. If not submitted, the student will fail a continuous assessment module, but will be
shown as absent from the examination, in the case of other modules.

IV. Optional assignments – these may benefit your learning and are for enrichment
purposes.

9.5 The assessments

As indicated in section 9.2, you need to complete three (3) assessments for SED2601. Details
on the assessments are available on the module site.

Assignments and their due dates will be made available to you on myModules for this module,
hopefully upon registration.

9.6 Other assessment methods

Assessment 01 is a multiple-choice question (MCQ) paper, to be completed online.

Assessments 02 & 03 will require you to upload files. The files should be in pdf format.

9.7 The examination

Examination information and details on the format of thereof will be made available to you
online, via the myUnisa site. Keep an eye out for information that will be shared with you by
your lecturer and e-tutors (where relevant), and for communications from the university.

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9.7.1 Invigilation/proctoring

Since 2020, Unisa has conducted all its assessments online. Given stringent requirements from
professional bodies and increased solicitations of Unisa’s students by third parties to unlawfully
assist them with the completion of assignments and examinations, the university is obliged to
assure its assessment integrity through the use of various proctoring tools: Turnitin, Moodle
Proctoring, the Invigilator App and IRIS. These tools authenticate a student’s identity and flag
suspicious behaviour, to assure the credibility of students’ responses during assessments. The
description below is for your benefit, as you may encounter any (or all) of these in your
registered modules:

Turnitin is plagiarism software that facilitates checks for originality in students’ submissions
against internal and external sources. Turnitin assists in identifying academic fraud and ghost
writing. Students are expected to submit typed responses, for use with Turnitin software.

The Moodle Proctoring tool is facial recognition software that authenticates students’ identity
during their quiz assessments. This tool requires access to a student’s mobile or laptop
camera. Students must ensure their camera is activated in their browser settings, prior to their
assessments.

The Invigilator mobile application-based service verifies the identity of an assessment

participant. The Invigilator App detects student dishonesty-by-proxy and ensures that the
assessment participant is the registered student. This invigilation tool requires students to
download the app from their Play Store (Google, Huawei and Apple) on their mobile devices
(camera enabled) prior to their assessment.

IRIS invigilation software verifies the identity of a student during assessment and provides for
both manual and automated facial verification. It has the ability to record and review a student’s
assessment session. It flags suspicious behaviour by the student, for review by an academic
administrator. IRIS software requires installation on the student’s laptop device that is enabled
with a webcam.

Students who are identified and flagged for suspicious, dishonest behaviour arising from the
invigilation and proctoring reports, will be referred to the disciplinary office for formal
proceedings.

Please note: Refer to the module assessment information on the myModule sites, to determine
which proctoring or invigilation tool will be used for your formative and summative assessments.

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 10. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

10.1 Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of taking the words, ideas and thoughts of others and presenting them as
your own. It is a form of theft. Plagiarism includes the following forms of academic dishonesty:

• Copying and pasting from any source, without acknowledging the source
• Not including references or deliberately inserting incorrect bibliographic information
• Paraphrasing, without acknowledging the original source of the information.

10.2 Cheating

Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Completing assessments on behalf of another student, copying the work of another

student during an assessment, or allowing another student to copy your work
• Using social media (e.g. WhatsApp, Telegram) or other platforms to disseminate
assessment-related information
• Submitting corrupt or irrelevant files (see the examination guidelines)
• Buying completed answers from so-called “tutors” or internet sites (contract cheating).

For more information on plagiarism, follow the link below:

https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-Unisa/Student-values-and-rules

11. AN INVITATION TO STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES

The Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities (ARCSWiD) provides an
opportunity for staff to interact with first-time and returning students with disabilities. If you are a
student with a disability, who would like additional support or need additional time for
assessments, please contact Mr Letsoalo TV at letsotv@unisa.ac.za to discuss the assistance
you need.

12. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Frequently asked questions will be addressed on the module site.

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13. SOURCES CONSULTED

None.

14. IN CLOSING

We wish you a fascinating and satisfying journey through the learning material and trust you
will complete the module successfully.

Do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail if you are experiencing problems with the content of
this tutorial letter, or with any academic aspect of the module.

Best of luck with your studies!

Mr TV Letsoalo
LECTURER FOR SED2601
Department of Educational Foundations

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

See the Glossary at the end of the prescribed textbook, Sociology of Education, which will
help you understand key concepts that are used in our field.

©
Unisa 2024

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